SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said he expects chip supply shortages to persist at over 20% through 2030, adding that SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung will soon announce a new plan to stabilize DRAM prices.
Speaking to reporters at Nvidia's annual developer conference GTC 2026 in San Jose, California on March 16, Chey said, "The supply shortage stems from wafer shortages, and securing more wafers will take at least four to five years."
"It's the same everywhere, and even if we build production capacity outside Korea, it will take just as long," Chey said. "Korea already has the foundation in place, so we can respond much faster. That's why we're focusing on Korea."
He noted that artificial intelligence requires GPUs, and GPUs require high-bandwidth memory. "However, if we focus too much on HBM, regular DRAM becomes scarce, affecting existing industries such as smartphones and PCs," he cautioned.
On the possibility of building overseas factories, Chey said, "You need power, water, construction conditions, and engineering talent. You can't simply expand just because you want to."
Asked about a potential U.S. ADR listing, he confirmed SK Hynix is considering it. "It would expose us not only to Korean shareholders but also to U.S. and global shareholders, making us a more global company," he said.
Regarding meetings with big tech leaders including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Chey said, "Nvidia is one of our major customers. I hope to meet with them and plan to meet with other companies as well."
He described TSMC as "a very good partner," adding that "it is virtually impossible to create solutions like Vera Rubin without TSMC."
Chey also noted that China faces memory supply shortages. "It's impressive that Chinese companies are selling to markets outside China in this situation," he said. "New competition may emerge depending on Chinese companies' policies."
